PotterCast 147: Ninja!Squee Transcript

News Talk (0:00 - 20:41)

Melissa Anelli (MA): Okay, hold on, everybody. It's episode number 147 of PotterCast. Here are your happy, friendly PotterCast quartet. (All: Woo!) I'm Melissa. I'm here with Jo and Sue and ze Frak.

Sue Upton (SU): And you really are with...

Frankie Franco III (FF): My, my what?

SU: You really are with John. Aren't you? This week. He was... (FF laughs)

MA: Yeah. He's in the other room. (SU laughs)

John Noe (JN): Here I am. I'm just traveling around the country.

MA: John's...

FF: He apparated from southern California to New York.

MA: Now, he has to go to Michigan.

FF: Oh, and for- real quick.

JN: I am going to Michigan in three weeks. (SU laughs)

FF: Just to clear up some comments. My last name is Franco. So, anybody out there on the comments. (MA: I know. A lot of people, "What's Frak's last name?") People think I don't have a last name. (MA: You're like Madonna.) I'm not stuck in the eighties. I have a full name. My name is Frankie Franco III.

MA: You're like Madonna or Chikezie.

FF: But, I go by Frak and I like it. So, it's okay.

MA: You know, it's a bad word in some sort of...

FF: Yeah, I know, but I was signing my artwork that way before that show came back. So...

MA: What's that show? Battlestar?

FF: Yeah. Unless Battlestar Galactica came back before '99. That's my freshman year of college.

MA: Don't say anything about Battlestar Galactica. I've heard it's one of the most obsessive.

FF: Oh, I've been looking forward to watching it because I have good friends who really like it and they said that I would love the writing. So, I'm going to borrow the DVDs from my friends. I'm just waiting. I guess the new season started on Friday of the last season of four. (MA: Yeah.) So, I guess that's a big deal. So, all you Battlestar Galactica fans. Ye-ah!

MA: Yeah. Okay, don't say any other comments. Okay, PotterCast 147. (FF laughs) Before we do anything else we have to hear from our friends over at Audiblekids.com.

Audible Kids Ad:
JN: This podcast is brought to you by Audiblekids.com, the Internet's leading source for children's audiobooks. Get a free audiobook download of your choice when you sign up today. Log on to audiblekids.com/pottercast for more details.

MA: Great show this week. Do we John have an update for everybody on the actor troupe?

JN: We have an update. (MA laughs) We don't have any new auditions yet because, good Lord, there's over a hundred of them.

SU: Wow!

MA: Yeah. Wow.

JN: We may have to have like a little mini special cast to do the first round at any rate.

MA: Can it be like PotterCast Idol? (FF laughs)

JN: That's what I want it to try to be. That's why I don't want to just toss them on here and everybody's like, "Wahh! What's taking so long?" But it's like, come on, this is entertainment in itself. These auditions.

MA: I want to do PotterCast Idol. (FF: You should.) To have a regular on Canon Conundrums. (FF: I'll be the Ryan Seacrest, I guess.) I want to have somebody come into Canon Conundrums (JN laughs) and we'll do like- or we'll do two every week and you guys can pick.

JN: Yeah, totally. That'd be fun.

SU: Awesome. I want to- this will be fun. Can I be Paula? I don't want to be Simon.

MA: Sue, somehow I thought you would be Paula.

SU: Okay. (laughs) (JN: Susie's a Paula.) Because I don't say the word dog right. Like what's his name. Randy does. (laughs)

JN: Yeah, dog. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, dog.

SU: (laughs) Yo, listen up, dog. (laughs)

MA: John's Simon. Does that make me Randy?

FF: No. I think you'd be Simon. (SU laughs)

MA: Thanks a lot, Frak!

JN: What? You think you're Randy?

FF: None of that. He's very intelligent! I'll be Simon, then. I'll be honest. I'll be mean. (MA: Okay.) (imitating Simon Cowell) I just don't like it, this is dreadful. (MA laughs) It was dreadful. What were you thinking? (All laugh)

MA: And your outfit. Really.

FF: (imitating Simon Cowell) And your outfit, and your hair.

MA: (laughs) What is that voice Frak?

FF: It's my robot voice. It's very effective.

MA: Do it again.

JN: Say, proceed to the highlighted route. (SU laughs)

FF: (in robot voice) Proceed to the highlighted route. (All laugh) (MA: Oh, God.) Prepare to make a right hand turn in fifty-four feet. (All laugh) (SU: It's very scary.) We did that all week, last week.

MA: Oh, my God. It's like tour all over again. (FF laughs) That little voice.

SU: That little voice. It's so annoying. (laughs)

MA: (FF laughs) Also on the show, Phoenix Files. I think. Bit By Bit. And (SU: Scribby 5.) Scribby 5 and all the good stuff you should get. (JN: Canon Conundrums.) Yes. And stick around for the part where we declare ourselves kings of the world.

SU: I heard that about us. (laughs)

MA: That's going to be great.

JN: We are what we are. (FF and MA laugh) You know what? I'm not ashamed. Don't hate. Don't hate.

FF: (in robot voice) We will conquer the world because we are kings of the world. (All laugh)

SU: You sounded like inga, dinga, dur. We are the kings of the world. Little Muppet guy or something.

MA: Now, before we get accused of doing an inside joke, people have been saying on the comments, somebody said that we acted like we're kings of the world and they're clearly right. I mean (JN: Clearly.) don't they know? (JN laughs)

FF: It's about time they caught on, to be frank. We're about to make it a secret podcast (MA: God.) if you have the right password to download. (SU laughs)

JN: Well.

MA: John's walking around here with a crown on. (SU laughs) I don't know what's happening there. (FF laughs)

JN: I got it from Jo, so.

MA: That's right. That's right.

FF: And a scepter.

SU: Hm.

JN: Yes. (laughs)

MA: All right. Before this show gets even further off the rails (JN: Yeah.) can we hear from our Sues what's happening in the news.

SU: I'm going to...

JN: Oh, there's news?

FF: (to the tune of the Blue's Clues theme) Sue's news! Sue's news!

SU: I'm going to talk about Dan Radcliffe! Yay!

JN: Boo! I don't want to talk about him. (SU laughs)

MA: Everybody say 'yay' right now. Yay! (JN: Boo!) That's another comments thing for those that don't read the comments.

SU: I mean, honestly, I love Dan Radcliffe.

JN: I love the comments. I love the comments.

MA: Apparently whenever Sue says Dan Radcliffe there's a silence.

SU: I don't even know where that came from.

FF: Daniel Radcliffe.

MA: I'm sorry, Miss Elle was very nice- the person named Elle, I'm not making fun of you, but it's so wrong that we're all sitting here silent because we don't want to say how much we don't like Dan. It's just...

JN: I mean, I honestly, personally go silent because I have a little crush on Dan so I get embarrassed to talk about him. (FF, MA laugh) Makes me kind of uncomfortable. (MA: You're so- oh, man.) But that's my issue I guess, not any else.

SU: All right...

MA: That's so off base, they have been nothing but kind to us, we love that kid, are you kidding me?

SU: He's so cool, he's a great young man- and very talented and we will all get to see that starting on September 5th, when Equus does open on Broadway, it's now confirmed. I mean, fabulous, and the point- it begin previews actually on September 5th, when it opens formally on September 25th which is...

MA: How long is it running, do we know?

JN: I thought I was...

SU: It's running twenty-two weeks, until February 8th of 2009, sorry.

MA: Wow.

JN: I wonder how much that billboard cost that they bought down in Times Square for that big picture of him. Because that thing is huge, it's like fifty feet tall. A picture of him with a horse?

SU: Is there one up yet? I think there will be. I think you're joking, are you serious?

JN: Yes! It probably cost ten million dollars or something a week.

SU: I don't...

FF: I can't tell if you're joking.

SU: I can't either. Because there was a big billboard in London, when it opened in London, but I don't know. I'm ignoring John. Okay, moving on! Tickets will go on sale early for people who have American Express cards on April 12th, but they open to the general public- now listen up- on April 26th. And you can order through Telecharge.com, and let me tell you folks, if you're thinking about this, you might consider saving some money because tickets will not be cheap.

MA: How much are they?

SU: Okay, just the regular orchestra seats are $116, but get this: the premium seats prices are $251.50.

MA: What?

JN: Whoa!

SU: No get this, on Saturday night, $301.

JN: For what?

MA: What?

SU: Yes, I'm not kidding, I am not kidding you.

FF: Ai, ai, what?

MA: Saw that for forty pounds in England.

SU: I know. But the orchestra seats- (JN: that's insane...) even on Wednesdays- Wednesdays are traditionally the matinees- and the prices on the orchestra seats will be 111 and then the very back, like in the mezzanine, like the back rows from J to L will be $61.

MA: About $100 is market Broadway rate for a really good orchestra, from a hundred to 120 for a good orchestra seat. Two hundred and fifty is highway robbery!

SU: And then on Saturday night it's $301.50. Are you kidding me?

MA: I get the star quality, but one of the great things about Broadway is that it's almost the same price for anywhere you go. It's not that you pay more for the stars, there's been much bigger- no offence to Daniel Radcliffe, I know we're going to get slammed- but there have been legendary stars who are award winners for sixty years who are perhaps bigger stars, maybe not more marketable stars but bigger stars who have, who don't merit...

JN: Were they out there showing their bits off?

MA: John!

SU: No.

JN: It is what it is.

MA: No, but that's a really- that's a crude way of looking at it and if that has anything to do with the production, I would really doubt it. They're not saying that's what you're paying for, they're saying you're paying to see Daniel Radcliffe.

SU: Right, right, right. And...

FF: Well, that's, that's...

SU: You know, I don't want to begrudge a talented actor because Richard Griffiths is also reprising his role, but at the same time, like Melissa said, there's been some extraordinary, like people like Ian McKellen, extraordinary people, (MA: Oh God!) just legends on the stage who will give you the most extraordinary performances and that I- you don't...

JN: Well no, you got...

MA: Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Cherry Jones. These are just, off the top of my head, people I've seen on Broadway for like a twenty dollars ticket.

JN: You know, let's not forget Clay Aiken in Spamalot. (SU laughs) (MA: John!) Joey Fatone in Rent.

SU: You know, he was great on Dancing with the Stars or whatever that show was, he was good with the chick from Days of our Lives.

MA: This is just a shame. You know what? Maybe there's another way of looking at this. Maybe it's a way to keep the riff-raff out of the main seats.

SU: You know, maybe so.

FF: Ah ah! The riff-raff! The riff-raff!

SU: But that's a lot of money to like say, (JN: (sings Aladin) Riff-raff, street rat, I don't buy that.)you know, hardcore fans, you want to get the best possible seat, I don't know, but on a saturday night, you think I'm going to go on a date, I'm going to treat my girl nice or my guy nice and well, for a couple to go out it's going to be 600 or 700 to go to the theater, that's just...

MA: Yeah.

JN: If I were in the market for first dates, that would be up high on my list I got to see. (FFand SU laugh) I would be- I don't know, it might backfire on me.

FF: (laughs) Let's hope you don't go that far on a first date.

JN: This is true!

SU: Boys, boys! (laughs)

FF: I'm just being honest!

JN: I mean, how can you compete with that? (FF: He is magic.) I'm done.

SU: But I don't know. So that's the news, so. But if you do want to get tickets, though, and you are willing to whatever because there are. They do go on sale to the general public on the twenty-sixth and I'm sure they'll be slammed so. It's only twenty-two weeks and I- there was a lot of talk and Melissa, I want to get your opinion about this. He is doing publicity traditionally during, you know going to the premieres during the week like when Half-Blood Prince opens, right? Would they normally, (MA: Yeah.) for something like this, would they get like a stand-in? I don't know. Is that what they're called the people?

MA: Yeah, he'll have an understudy.

SU: Understudy. That's the word. Thank you. I couldn't remember what that was.

MA: Yeah. (laughs) Yeah, yeah, definitely. Hopefully who's prepared (SU: Yeah.) for the role.

JN: When does Half-Blood Prince open?

MA: That has to suck. Hm?

JN: When does Half-Blood Prince open?

MA: November 16th.

SU: Well, it's the 21st, but they'll probably do the premiere. (MA: Twenty-first.) They always do the premiere...

MA: November 16th, wasn't that the first ever? Wasn’t that Sorcerer's Stone?

SU: Yes, yes.

MA: It's just stuck in my head.

SU: It's all right around Thanksgiving, you know.

MA: I think it was the sixteenth. I think if I'm remembering correctly Sorcerer's Stone opened on the sixteenth or maybe it was Chamber. Anyway, they've all been in November, second, third week of November.

JN: And that's when it’s released or the premiere?

MA: That's when it's released but the week before (SU: Right.) will be the premieres.

SU: Right.

JN: You think a week or two weeks before? Maybe. I don't know.

SU: Mm-hm.

MA: Well, I guess they're doing an L.A. and a London premiere again so that'll be...

SU: Yeah.

FF: Yay, L.A.!

SU: Yeah. I'm excited. (JN: Awesome.) I just want to see the part- Speaking of Half-Blood Prince, we have a, there was two, this is kind of interesting, two more character actors were cast for the part. One was the vampire who's into- (JN: Edward Cullen?) (laughs) Yeah, he was. (FF: Rufus?) (laughs) No, no. That Sanguini or whatever his name is that was at Slughorn's party. It was so funny when Snape had that whole thing. (JN: Oh, right, yeah.) And then the other person that was cast was Regulus Black.

JN: What?

SU: Yes.

MA: Yeah, and there was an interview with him on Live Hogwarts.

SU: Mm-hm.

FF: Regulus Black?

SU: Yes.

FF: Well I guess for pictures and what not?

JN: That's awesome.

SU: Well, he's going to be...

JN: For a flashback with Kreacher?

SU: Well, here we go. Speaking of, beep beep, spoiler-warning, stop now. He is going to be appearing as a portrait in Slughorn's office. Interesting. And in a photograph. Yeah. (JN: What?) He's in a photograph. It's not a portrait, but a photograph in Slughorn's office.

FF: Mm.

JN: That's very interesting.

SU: Isn't it, though?

MA: Yeah.

FF: I would even say that I am intrigued.

JN: Borderline obscure, but very interesting.

SU: Well, I don't know how they're going to explain that like... (sighs)

JN: Are they friends?

SU: Well, okay, Slughorn was, he was. Was he Head of House when he was the Potion Master?

MA: Well, Slughorn would appeal. Slughorn wasn't Head of House then, I don't think.

SU: He was just the Potions Master, right?

MA: Wait, was he head of Slytherin House?

JN: Did you say Slughorn or Scrimgeour's office?

SU: Slughorn.

MA: Slughorn's office.

JN: Oh, I thought you said Scrimgeour for some reason.

SU: No.

MA: You're confusing me now.

JN: Because that would be ridiculous.

SU: No, it's Slughorn's office and but so I'm trying to decide how they would set it up that he had gone to the cave so maybe it's some sort of his memory. I just don't know how they're going to work that in there. You know?

JN: When Kreacher tells his story it'd be cool to see a flashback of it, but that would be kind of anticlimactic to show the cave before we actually get to the cave with Harry and Dumbledore. (FF: Yeah.) That wouldn't work. That'd be a poor choice.

SU: Yeah.

MA: But will they ever use him again? Will they use him in Number Seven?

SU: I don't know. He said he hasn't been asked back yet but he would love to. That would make sense if they...

MA: I guess if they do a memory of the cave.

JN: I just want to know if they got Robert Pattinson back for anything this time around, too.

MA: No, he's off doing a vampire thing.

SU: Yeah, yeah. There's... (laughs)

JN: Aw, nuts.

MA: What else is going on, Suez?

SU: If you wanted to read Tales of Beedle the Bard you may actually could do this.

FF: What? (JN: Ooh.) Huh?

SU: Yes, it's true. Amazon.com has opened up a new contest where people could win a chance to go to- You could fly to London and the contest for two people to win to go and read Tales of Beedle the Bard for a weekend.

FF: What's the contest?

SU: You have to write in one hundred words or less and you have to answer a question, one of three questions.

FF: Do they accept drawings of fuzzy dogs? (SU and JN laugh)

SU: I don't know.

JN: That would be brilliant.

FF: I need to know.

SU: It's really interesting because this contest is open for people ages thirteen and older. If you've ever read Leaky- (MA: Finally!) Yes, finally. You've all complained about this. And it was really interesting now tonight that I just saw tonight I just saw Newsround the kids over there are complaining that the young kids are excluded. (laughs)

MA: Oh, geez.

FF: Oh, shut up. I'm selfish. (SU laughs)

MA: You know I love the young kids. I'm all for the young kids. We've said on here before for people not to be angry about contests because it was for the young kids, but let the adults have something something just (SU: Just once!) once. What the bleep?

SU: I know, but it's so funny because (JN: Mm.) it includes the security guards. And you get to go in there and there'll be security. They're going to have a little security guard with you. But you actually get to sit and read the (MA: What!?) book.

MA: Yeah, my question is how are you- How are they trusting some random person who won a contest to handle that book? Do you tell the security guard when you like to turn a page?

FF: Probably.

SU: Apparently so.

FF: There's going to be a security guard and some curator right there with tweezers and gloves. So it's going to be like...

MA: Yeah.

JN: That could be a disaster. What if you like sneezed or something?

SU: (laughs) John!

MA: I drooled on it. My drool is all over it.

FF: What if I accidentally put it in my satchel and walked out? (John sighs)

SU: No.

MA: Accidentally.

FF: I'm just kidding.

MA: You'd be killed.

SU: I mean.

FF: I wouldn't do that. Who was that politician

JN: Who was that politician that went into the National Archives and stuffed papers down his socks or something?

FF: That was a movie, National Treasure.

JN: Remember that? (SU laughs) No. No.

SU: That was (laughs) what's his name.

JN: Some Clinton guy.

SU: (laughs) Oh.

JN: Surely somebody will comment or email. (SU: Hm.) I can't remember now.

SU: I don't know. I...

JN: Anyway, I don't think you'd be able to get away with anything like that.

SU: You lost me on the sock thing, John. I don't know.

JN: All right.

FF: House elves like socks.

JN: National Treasure was cool.

SU: (sighs) I like Nicolas Cage but he looks like he- I don't know, he looked kind of funky in this last one. I don't know.

JN: I haven't seen the most recent one.

SU: Well my little boy liked them. They're good for kids.

MA: I love National Treasure. I loved it. (FF: Those ones are fun. I liked both of them.) Loved it, loved it, loved it. (SU: Mm-hm.) I haven't seen the second yet.

FF: Oh, it's worth watching. It's a lot of fun.

SU: Yeah they are.

JN: I used to want to be (MA: The first one killed me.) that kind of person when I was little. Like a discoverer going into like old places like that and finding treasures and stuff.

SU: You mean like Indiana Jones? Dawlish Jones. The adventures of Dawlish Jones.

JN: Uh, yeah.

FF: A paleontologist who works out.

JN: See (FF: Indiana Jones.) a paleontologist. Yeah that's a really hot profession. That would be a lot of fun. Oh well, what are we talking about?

SU: Okay, moving on to one more thing. (JN laughs)

MA: Yeah, come on.

JN: Jo has donated a book- a donation to a book that's going to be put out in the honor of Prince Charles' sixtieth birthday. And I think this is kind of neat. This is important. What she's contributing is actually going to be an extract of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And it's going to have (JN: Whoa.) two new illustrations by an artist named Quentin Blake who's pretty famous. So...

FF: Who?

MA and SU and JN: Yeah.

SU: And so that's kind of cool. And at first (JN: Cool.) I was kind of shocked. I didn't really believe that because why would she ever- I've never seen her books reprinted, especially with another, like this is a Random House publication. And I was like, (JN: Huh.) "Whoa!" Yeah, but she's really doing it, 'cause it's all going for charity. So I think that's cool.

JN: She's got a lot of charitable activity this week. I thought I read somewhere that she had put a dress up on eBay (SU sighs) for charity. This beautiful purple dress.

SU: Uh-huh.

MA: That's not on charity. That's not on eBay. She's not put anything on eBay.

JN: No, she put the purple dress on eBay. For some reason she didn't want it anymore. And I have no idea why, (SU: That...) but it's a beautiful dress.

MA: John you are not going to get us to talk about this story.

SU: Yes he is. This is his shameless, sad, (MA: He's trying, he's trying.) little, pathetic attempt to talk...

MA: We're not doing it. We're moving on. What else is happening?

SU: And there's just one more thing I want to say for people. It's not deeply informative, but Julie Walters gave a fantastic new interview. It's on screenonline.com. And it's an interactive interview. And it's just- It's really a fun interview. This actress she plays Molly Weasley in the movies. And she does talk about her time on the set and how delightful it was, and how the machine they'd created to do the plate- You know the plate is washing, you know, magically in the sink and she mentions how they created it so it's actually doing that when they're filming it by themselves. You can't see like a little hand or anything it's done. The interview if you get a chance to watch it is really quite fun. She's a very thoughtful person, but she's very very funny. She talks about her life in the theatre and getting her award from- Her O.B.E., and just- she's just marvelous and if you get a chance to watch that I encourage people to do that. I don't like to do that too much, but I just think she's fabulous. Go watch it. It's great.

FF: She was washing a dish?

MA: Cool.

SU: Well, in The Burrow. (FF laughs) No, no, you know how in (FF: Oh.) The Chamber of Secrets she was (JN laughs) talking about how delightful that (FF: Yeah, yeah.) set is and she wants to film more, which we're all for more Molly Weasley, so- 'cause I can't wait for Movie Seven.

JN: She was...

SU: Can't believe it. Can't wait.

JN: She was washing a dish and she came outside.

FF: Yeah.

SU: (sighs) You know, John...

JN: Oh, I heard a noise. (SU and JN laugh)

MA: All right. Can we move on, please?

JN: Yay. (MA: 'Cause I'm bored.) Let's get ready for the next part.

MA: What is that next part, John?

JN: The next part's (MA: Producer boy.) gonna be (makes drum roll sound)( bit by what?

MA: Bit!

FF: Bit by Bit. Bit by (JN: There it is.) Bit.

MA: All righty. Let's go do it.

FF: Please (JN: Woo.) continue on to the next segment, Bit by Bit.